Daily Briefing: Car loan rules eased; Singapore suffers biggest drop in prime office rents in APAC

And Singapore's housing market is closer to bottoming out.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) this week raised the maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratio for motor vehicles to 60 to 70 percent, from 50 to 60 percent previously. In addition, the maximum loan tenure will be raised to seven years from five years. What does this mean for the property market? In a report released on Friday (27 May), Credit Suisse said: “With the weakening macro outlook, easing of property cooling measures would be one of the range of policies the government can use to combat a slowdown. Read more here.

Singapore recorded the largest drop in prime office rent across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region during the first quarter, according to the latest report from Knight Frank. In Q1 2016, average prime office rent in the city-state declined by 4.4 percent quarter-on-quarter, and rents there are expected to fall further over the next 12 months. “Singapore continued to be mired in a double whammy of significant supply and weak demand,” said the report. Find out more here.

Property analysts believe that Singapore’s housing market is bottoming out. LaSalle Investment Management believes that Singapore’s real estate market could reach its lowest level sooner than Hong Kong, reported Bloomberg. Government officials in both cities have imposed a series of property cooling measures to rein in spiralling residential prices in two of Asia’s most expensive housing markets. Read more here.